So, when George acquired a near-lethal heroin and cocaine habit in the mid-1980s, it was his brother David who – to shock his sibling out of his drug-induced torpor – shopped him to The Sun. Junkie George Has Eight Weeks To Live, decreed the headline in 1986. Manifestly erroneously, as it turned out.

I love that. They’re just so reliable.

‘I thought it was a bit of a cheek,’ bridles George. ‘I’m surprised at how many people say “We must save live theatre”, then, when you try, they tear you apart.’